One Day Off
by MysticAme
Summary: Ruby lifted her head up to meet Hanamaru's eyes. Her face began to turn rosy as she hesitated to take her friend's hand. Her cheeks became an even darker shade of red as she spaced out into Hanamaru's gaze, almost enchanted in her aura. 'It's been awhile since I've seen Hanamaru this happy...' 'She looks so pretty...' "A-Ah!"


Ruby flung the door open.

"Big sis, I'm off!"

With a shout, she dashes out her home. Her feet speed along the sidewalk, each step causing a ruckus from inside her purse. Ruby's red pigtails bounce from the breeze pushing against her, and the sunhat on her head begins to tip over, but her hand instinctively reaches over to stop it. Quickly, she pulls her phone out of her pocket. It was 10:03am, exactly 3 minutes late to her destination.

"A-Ah… I'm going to be late…"

Panting, Ruby runs and runs and runs until she reaches the park entrance. Halting to a stop, her hands fall onto her knees. The sun shines directly onto her as she gasps for breath, sweat forming on on the girl's forehead.

"Ruby-chan?"

The voice comes as a surprise to Ruby, and there was even more of a surprise when she felt the voice's finger poke her cheek. Ruby jumps up and yelps in embarrassment as her friend walks around into her vision.

"A-Are you okay, zura..?"

Ruby nodded her head and wipes the sweat off her forehead. She had almost forgotten why she was running so fast in the first place- she had a picnic date with Hanamaru! The two had been so busy with school idol practice, and the upcoming Love Live hasn't helped their stress either. That's why when Hanamaru asked her if she wanted to spend the day together, Ruby accepted it without a single thought about her daily chores.

"Mhm! I'm okay, I just got caught up in errands with Dia and…" She lets out a sigh. "I kind of lost track of time, ehehe…"

Ruby's voice lowered.

"Sorry…"

There was silence for a moment. Hanamaru tilted her head and let out a soft chuckle.

"You weren't that late, Ruby. Everything's already prepared, too!" A warm, familiar smile on her face, Hanamaru held her hand out to her friend.

"Shall we go, zura?"

Ruby lifted her head up to meet Hanamaru's eyes. Her face began to turn rosy as she hesitated to take her friend's hand. Her cheeks became an even darker shade of red as she spaced out into Hanamaru's gaze, almost enchanted in her aura. 'It's been awhile since I've seen Hanamaru this happy...'

'She looks so pretty...'

"A-Ah!"

Ruby shakes her head for a second, throwing the thought out of her mind. 'I-It's just a regular picnic meetup like we used to do, Ruby! N-Nothing else!' Still, despite Ruby's best effort to focus, her heart's beating made itself especially apparent.

"S-Sure! L-Let's go!" Ruby stammered, still trying to collect herself. Hanamaru looked at her friend, worried at her actions. In an effort to make Ruby feel more comfortable, she reached for Ruby's hand all the way and starts to lead them off. Hanamaru nods her head. "Zura!"

Ruby trailed behind Hanamaru, her hand slightly outstretched and wrapped around her friend's. She looked down again, trying her best to recollect herself. Ruby was so far into her own head that she didn't even notice Hanamaru stopped walking. Still in thought, she waltzes on forward and bumps into her friend.

"Pigyah!"

Ruby bounces back and stumbles onto the ground, her butt landing directly onto a blue picnic mat. She looks around her sides and takes in the area. There's a small wooden basket on the corner of the picnic mat, with several drinks next to it. On the far left of her, another basket- this one filled with various fruits. There was a small cake and… One of Hanamaru's books on the ground. The whole area seemed perfect for a nice afternoon outside. _"I was only a few minutes late, did Hanamaru really have time to set all of this up..?"_

Hanamaru rushes towards her friend and kneels down beside her.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Ruby?"

"M-Mm." Ruby averts her gaze from her friend. She wasn't sure why she was so embarrassed, but her mind fell into a rush whenever she was this close to Hanamaru. It was almost as if…

"But…" Hanamaru placed her hand on Ruby's forehead. "You feel hot, zura…"

"A-Ah, that's just…"

Ruby couldn't hide her embarrassment from her friend. She twiddled her fingers, unsure of what to say.

"Shh, it's okay…" Hanamaru looks around, her hand still held against her best friend's forehead. "How about we relax under that tree for a bit and see if it helps?"

Dazed from both the fall and her thoughts, Ruby gave her friend a small nod. Hanamaru smiled at her friend once more before getting up. She watched Hanamaru grab her book and walk over to the shade before doing the same herself.

She sat next to her friend in silence as she continued to contemplate her thoughts. ' _Why am I so embarrassed..?_ ', she thought. A part of her even began to felt guilty- as though she was ruining her date with Hanamaru.

After awhile, she peered over her friends shoulder, looking at the book she was reading. Most of the books her friend usually read long, detailed stories with hundreds of pages, but… This was different. It was a cute little picture book, nothing like any of the other books she had seen her friend read before. She watched Hanamaru gracefully flip to the next page, and the next, and the next… By the time Hanamaru had finished, Ruby was half-asleep.

"Ruby-chan..?"

Hanamaru noticed her friend struggle to keep her eyes open.

"It's okay, you can sleep here..." Hanamaru spoke soothingly. "I'll watch over you, zura~!"

Ruby tried to protest- after all, it was one of the only times that the two would be able to be together like this, but Hanamaru placed a finger over her lips.

"Shh… Just sleep for now, okay? We'll have time another day…"

"O-Okay…"

Ruby's sleepy head gently slipped down onto Hanamaru's lap. She looked up at her friend, watching her brown locks blow through the soft breeze.

"Hanamaru-chan..?"

"Mm?"

"Can you read the book to me..?"

Hanamaru let out a giggle.

"Sure, zura!"

Ruby smiled, her eyes fluttering closed as her friend read.

'Once upon a time, there was a princess named…'

Ruby's thoughts began to slow, her mind starting to lose consciousness. A hand gently caressing her hair brought her further and further into sleepiness.

"Hanamaru..?

"Yes, Ruby-chan..?"

Ruby's voice begins to peter out. _"I love you…"_

Hanamaru's eyes widen as she takes a glance at her friend. She sat there in silence, just watching her friend lay there asleep.

"I love you too..."


End file.
